katie
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 39
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Post by katie on Jun 2, 2021 14:15:02 GMT -5
You guys seem to have names for every rock so I've been watching tons of videos to learn and I felt like I was catching on but now everything is jumbled in my head and I'm losing it so I'm posting here. The first group of rocks I think you guys might be able to give me info on easily. The second group I'm thinking you're going to tell me those are just rocks but I have to ask anyway. Thanks!
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Post by fernwood on Jun 2, 2021 14:56:10 GMT -5
2nd group. Upper left= chert? Right = Granite?
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Post by fernwood on Jun 3, 2021 3:01:46 GMT -5
The yellowish one on left might be chert.
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tumblee
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 154
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Post by tumblee on Jun 3, 2021 3:10:40 GMT -5
Just rocks...
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katie
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 39
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Post by katie on Jun 3, 2021 13:34:00 GMT -5
tumblee : My life was so much easier when they were just rocks. Unfortunately I'm think I'm finding I like the identification more than the polishing. I'm hoping that will pass.
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Post by drocknut on Jun 4, 2021 12:11:47 GMT -5
I'm assuming the top picture is chalcedony. From what I've read if it doesn't have bands to tell if it's an agate or jasper, then you need to figure it out by opaqueness. If that's correct, then I'm assuming you guys didn't answer because you are so far past my identification level that I can't even begin to understand the complexities and depth of the water I don't want to dive into. I'm going with chalcedony for the top picture. I'm happy with that. I didn't even see this thread until now so that's why I haven't answered. Sometimes the threads don't get seen right away so sometimes there is a wait for any answers. The top picture does look like chalcedony. It could be agate but if you want to be technical all agates are forms of chalcedony which is a broad term for a variety of quartz generally speaking. I usually call something chalcedony if it isn't a known named agate type or if it doesn't have fortifications or inclusions that would distinguish it from other quartz rocks. For me, rockhounding, especially identification is a constant learning experience. A lot of that learning is hands on or from asking questions. Glad to see you are asking questions and are interested in knowing what you have found.
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Post by Peruano on Jun 5, 2021 13:58:29 GMT -5
I like your comment that determining the identification is just as satisfying as working their luster. Lets just say that most of the rocks that you will be attracted to will be some form of quartz/chalcedony. Thus you need to read, and study, and compare with the info on the quartzpage.de It will tell you to pay attention to crystal size, color, origin, etc. The other major source of rocks in the Albuquerque area are Precambrian metamorphics from the western side of the adjacent mountains, and sedimentary stuff from the top and eastern side of the mountains. On the west side of the rio grande you have 1000s of feet of rocks transported from further north via the Rio Grande and its previous ancestors and those riverine deposits consist of material of various ages and origins. In it is a lot of jasper and agate (including agatized wood = petrified wood). You may even find common opal, obsidian, and occasional piece of basalt, and other materials like hematite, and or green stone. Your basic task is to start picking up and comparing stones as you encounter (and are drawn to them). Polished river stones are a bit harder to id because they are smoothed and their real crystaline pattern may not be visible, but their advantage is that they are everywhere and furnish lots of examples to compare and draw info from. Quartzites have a sugary, crystal pattern (grains fused under pressure) whereas agates, cherts, and most jaspers have a smooth feel and when broken can form concave divits (conchoidal fractures). Paying attention to those characteristics will segregate a lot of your candidates. The examples that you presented that have thin flaking surfaces (like waves on a beach) are likely quartzites. Find something that has the conchoidal divits and you will have an agate to contrast with the quartzites. The patterns in quartzites are often striped and diffuse, whereas the stripes or inclusions in our local agates are discrete and not blurred. There is an excellent mineral musuem at New Mexico Tech in Socorro and there you could learn a lot. Or find a rock hound in the Albuquerque area and spend an afternoon talking, collecting and rejecting rocks with or without lapidary or geological interest for you. Its the old adage, you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you decide how to identify the prince. Pucker up and keep after it.
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katie
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 39
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Post by katie on Jun 6, 2021 16:22:51 GMT -5
Peruano Thank you for that info. I will start looking into it now. I have a bunch of rock I'm planning on taking to the Rock Museum this week. I really don't think there's much that would be of interest to people on this site but I keep running into these same rocks and would like to know more about their formation so I can move on with my life and quit picking them up. I'll post anything that seems like it might be something you guys are interested in. I'm looking into the rock hound thing also. Thanks again!!!
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Post by greig on Jun 6, 2021 20:00:47 GMT -5
Peruano Thank you for that info. I will start looking into it now. I have a bunch of rock I'm planning on taking to the Rock Museum this week. I really don't think there's much that would be of interest to people on this site but I keep running into these same rocks and would like to know more about their formation so I can move on with my life and quit picking them up. I'll post anything that seems like it might be something you guys are interested in. I'm looking into the rock hound thing also. Thanks again!!! Never stop picking them up. If you like, it's a good rock. I do see some agate in our pics. I don't know about the others, but I like pics. ;-)
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katie
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 39
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Post by katie on Jun 9, 2021 16:18:41 GMT -5
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katie
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 39
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Post by katie on Jun 9, 2021 16:25:32 GMT -5
The first blue rock is Copper sulfate slag as marked. The second is silicified granite and quartz. The third rock (two pics) with the greenish flakes they said was glassy slag The forth rock is perlite with obsidian protrusions.
Sorry for the bad pics.
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kyoti
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2020
Posts: 542
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Post by kyoti on Jun 9, 2021 19:05:17 GMT -5
I just saw this post. The first picture looks like Chalcendony to me and the second one has what looks like chert and some quartzite. I find a purple quartzite like that here locally. The easiest way to understand the agate-jasper-chalcendony-flint-chert thing is like this... All of them are crypto crystaline quartz. Chalcendony is translucent Agate is translucent with patterns or inclusions Jasper is opaque with distinct patterns Flint tends to be less colorful and softer than chert Chert is opaque with mild patterns and colors. Chert tends to be harder than all the others. *Disclaimer- the word Ussually should be assumed in front of all of the above statements
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